Ventilating system for traveling crane cabs, exhaust hoods and the like

ABSTRACT

A ventilating, system for travelling fume hoods and cabs of travelling vehicles such as cranes wherein an air supply or exhaust unit is located outside the area in which the hood or vehicle operates. The air supply or exhaust unit blows air to or exhausts gases through a duct having an elongated slot therein. In the case of the travelling vehicle an air scoop, receiving air from the slot and delivering it to the crane cab, travels back and forth in the slot as the crane travels and a special sealing device keeps the slot sealed in front of and behind the air scoop. The procedure is reversed when gases are being exhausted from a travelling fume hood or other travelling exhaust system.

[ Oct. 21, 1975 United States Patent 1191 Cullen 98/115 VM 98/115 VM M VU M 9 2 693,749 11/1954 Houdek............. CRANE CABS EXHAUST HOODS ANDTHE 2,970,351 2/1961 Rice LIKE 3,176,971 4/1965 Hulton et al. 3,643,8672/1972 Thietje................................ [75] Inventor:

[54] VENTILATING SYSTEM FOR TRAVELING Patrick F. Cullen, Ancaster,Canada Assignee: Crane Air Trac Incorporated, f Examujler c' DomyAssistant ExammerR0nald C. Capossela Burlington, Canada [57] ABSTRACT Aventilating, system for travelling fume hoods and cabs of travellingvehicles such as cranes wherein an [22] Filed: Aug. 9, 1974 21 Appl.No.: 496,295

Related Application Data air supply or exhaust unit is located outsidethe area in [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 318,007, Dec. 26,

which the hood or vehicle operates. The air supply or 1972, abandoned.exhaust unit blows air to or exhausts gases through a duct having anelongated slot therein. In the case of [52] US. 98/115 VM; 137/580;202/263; the travelling vehicle an air scoop, receiving air from 277/15the slot and delivering it to the crane cab, travels back Int. F23J15/00 and forth in the slot as the crane travels and a special [58]Field of Search....... 98/1 15 VM; 202/227, 228, sealing device keepsthe slot sealed in front of and be- 202/230, 263; 137/580; 266/15, 23 K;hind the air scoop. The procedure is reversed when 277/ 15 gases arebeing exhausted from a travelling fume hood or other travelling exhaustsystem.

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 14 Claims, 17 DrawingFigures 1,998,456 4/1935 Hanson et al. 98/115 VM US. Patent 0a. 21, 1975Sheet 1 of8 3,913,470

US. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet 2 of 8 3,913,470

U.S. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet30f8 3,913,470

mm mm mm US. Patent Oct 21, 1975 Sheet40f8 3,913,470

.4 FIGS) US. Patent 0a. 21, 1975 Sheet 5 of8 3,913,470

FIG'I'I """I', nr b US. Patent Oct.21,1975 Sheet6of8 3,913,470

US. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet7 0f8 3,913,470

US. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet8of8 3,913,470

FIG.I7

VENTILATING SYSTEM FOR TRAVELING CRANE CABS, EXHAUST I-IOODS AND THELIKE This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.318,007, filed Dec. 26,1972, now abandone d.

The present invention relates to a ventilating system for moving ortravelling gas filled vehicles such as travelling cranes or exhausthoods and more particularly to a system for supplying clean air to thecab of a moving vehicle which is operating in a hot and/or dirty and/ornoxious gas-laden atmosphere or to a system for exhausting noxious gasesfrom travelling exhaust hoods and the like.

As is well known, moving vehicles such as overhead cranes and scale carsare utilized in industrial plants such as smelting and refining plants,steel plants, cement works, chemical plants, and melting, casting andmetal working shops to transport heavy loads, e g. molten metal or slag,hot metal ingots or billets, chemicals, metal products and feed' stockfor furnaces, from one work area to another. The spaces through whichthese vehicles move and in which the operators cabs are located areusually very hot and/or highly polluted 'by gaseous and finely dividedsolid contaminants. Cooling systems for the cabs of such vehicles haveeither not been used at all or have been located directly on the movingvehicle and have not been successful in filtering out solid and gaseouscontaminants. Furthermore, such vehicle-located units become quicklyfouled and even plugged up with dirt and corrosion products caused bycondensed liquid contaminants and are subject to continuous vibrationand excessive operating temperatures. Shut-down and maintenance of suchcooling units is an all too frequent occurrence.

A number of devices have been used in the prior art for controlling andeliminating noxious gases in fume hoods located over chemical testingand analysis areas or over areas involved in the cleaning and grindingof metals. Thus, in US. Pat. Nos. 2,923,227, 3,176,971, 3,377,940 and3,443,802, various types of'fume hoods are disclosed which can be movedto different parts of a work area. However, in none of these patents isa system disclosed which can be used either for supplying an enclosedtravelling work area situated in a remote location, as with the cab of atravelling crane, or for the exhausting of noxious gases from a workarea which is moving from place to place.

A ventilating system is now provided by the present invention whichsupplies air from outside the work area to the cab of a travellingvehicle such as an overhead crane while locating the supplyunitmechanism remote and separate from the crane itself,- therebyeliminating gaseous and solid contaminants from the cab which arepolluting the atmosphere of the work area in which the cab is located.The system can also be used on a reverse principle for exhaustingnoxious gases from travelling fume or exhaust hoods.

It is an object of the present invention to provide clean air to the cabof a travelling vehicle while avoiding the placement of any ventilatingor air conditioning mechanism on the vehicle itself.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a means forefficiently carrying away noxious fumes from travelling exhaust hoodswithout substantial escape of fumes.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which;

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation in perspective of a clean airsupply system embodying the present invention; 4

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a portion of the system shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view, partly in section and partlybroken away, showing the supply air duct and cab air pick-up scoop inthe arrangement shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, partly broken away,

through line 44" of FIG. 3; 1

FIG. 5 is a perspective view in diagrammatic form of a'furtherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view, partially broken away of an exhaustsystem embodying the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG.6; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a joint used between the two sections ofone of the flexible flaps used in the sealing member of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a sealing member showing the placement ofjoints between the flexible flaps;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a variation of a gas deliveryscoopriding in a sealing member, further embodying the invention; 1

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view taken through line 1111 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a parital sectional view taken through line 12l2 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a further variation embodying the gasdelivery scoop and sealing member of the invention;

FIG. 14 is an elevational view in section of the system shown in FIG. 13illustrating pivotal motion in the gas delivery scoop;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a scale car utilizing a systemembodying the invention;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view, partially broken away of an exit andre-entry'system for the gas delivery scoop of the invention; and v FIG.17 is a perspective view of a still further embodiment of the inventionused on a travelling crane.

Generallyspeaking, the present invention relates to a ventilatingsystemfor a travelling gas-filled vehicle, such as the cab of a travellingcrane or a travelling exhaust hood, in which clean air is supplied froman air supply unit, such as an air conditioning unit which is drawingair from outside the work area in which the vehicle is located andpreferably from outside the actual building in which the vehicle isoperating. Alternatively, an exhausting device draws noxious fumes froma travelling exhaust hood. An elongated gas duct is'located along thepath of travel of the vehicle such as near and parallel to one of thetracks on which the vehicle travels. A clean air supply line, or exhaustline depending on the application, is connected to the gas duct and thisline is connected to an air supply unit, e.g. a high pressure airconditioning unit, or to an exhausting device. An elongated slot islocated along the length of the gas duct, the 'slot having spaced apartopposed edges in the gas duct. A continuous sealing member is located inand along the full length of the slot which normally seals it againstoutward or inward flow of gases therethrough. The sealing membercomprises two flexible flaps of elastomeric material, one flap beingattached to the other edge of the slot, and the flapsare biased to bearagainst each other and provide an airseal for the slot. The sealingmember is so designed that the flaps are held in sealing engagementagainst each other by positive or negative pressure as the case may bein the gas duct. Each flap has a sealing portion curled inwardly andsubstantially back on itself and with an open end, the open beingunattached and allowing a rolling action in the flap. Furthermore, theflaps are advantageously located to provide protection for the sealingmember against hot gases or metal or slag and/or dirt. A gas deliveryscoop is connected to the vehicle and the scoop has one end opening inthe gas duct and the other end opening into the vehicle. The end of thescoop opening into the gas duct is slidably inserted in the elongatedslot between the flexible flaps and is of flattened oblong configurationon a cross section thereof with acutely radiused edges located in theslot to provide an opening and closing of the slot with minimum airleakage therefrom.

When the system is operating as an exhaust system such as for exhaustingnoxious fumes from a travelling exhaust hood which is moved overequipment such as coke ovens from which noxious gases are periodicallydischarged, the gas line connected to the elongated duct is an exhaustline and is connected in turn to an exhausting device, such as anexhaust fan. The gas delivery scoop in such a case is an exhaust scoopand each flexible flap on the sealing member has an outer sealingportion located outside the elongated duct.

When the travelling gas-fllled vehicle is the cab of a travellingvehicle such as a crane, the gas duct and gas line are an air duct andan air supply line respectively, and a source of clean air is connectedto the air supply line, the system operating, for example as an airconditioning system, although warmed clean air may be supplied, ifdesired. The gas delivery scoop is an air pick up scoop and the airscoop opens into the air duct and the crane cab. Each flexible flap hasan inner sealing portion located inside the air duct.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, atravelling crane 10, of the type used in industrial plants, e.g.smelting and refining plants or in melting and casting shops, travellingon fixed rails l1, 12 is shown. The crane 10 has a cab 13, a movablehoisting trolly l4 and a large heavy duty operating motor 15. Anoperator is, of course, located in the cab 13 and he operates the crane10, which is used for lifting and transferring heavy loads, usually in avery hot and heavily polluted atmosphere. The cab 13 is seen to becompletely enclosed and protected from the surrounding atmosphere.

A stationary elongated air duct 16 is located along one side of the pathof travel of the crane 10, advantageously close to and below rail 11,which is shown mounted on a supporting wall 17. The air duct 16 is seento be located along the full path of travel of the crane l and issupported by suitable means such as by brackets 18 (one only being shownin FIG. 2). A clean air supply line 19 is attached to and opens into oneend of the air duct 16 advantageously by way of flexible connection 40,and a sourceof clean air, such as air conditioning supply unit 20provides a flow of conditioned air to and through the supply line 19 andinto the air duct 16. It is to be noted that the airconditioning supplyunit 20 is located outside of building 21 in which the crane isoperating, thereby avoiding having to utilize contaminated air frominside the building. A

static pressure controller 44 controls pressure of air being deliveredthrough the supply line 19 to the air 5 duct 16.

An elongated slot 22 is formed in the air duct 16, along substantiallythe full length thereof and the slot 22 has spaced apart opposing edges23 in the air duct 16. A continuous sealing member is integrallyattached to the air duct 16 in and along the full length of the slot 22,normally sealing the slot against outward flow of air therethrough.Thesealing member is made up of two flexible flaps 24 of elastomericmaterial, one flap being attached to one and the second flap beingattached to the other of the opposed edges 23, as clearly shown in FIGS.3 and 4. The flaps 24 are biased to bear firmly against each other andare held .in sealing engagement along the length thereof by positive airpressure inside the duct 16, thereby providing a seal for the slot 22and substantially preventing escape of air therethrough.

A gas delivery scoop, in this embodiment an air pickup scoop 25, has oneend 26 opening into constant volume controller 41 by way of flexibleconnecting hose 42 and the other end 29 opening in and drawing clean airfrom the air duct 16. The scoop 25 and the controller 41 are attached tothe cab 13 of the crane 10, such as by way of brackets 43. The end 29 ofthe pick-up scoop 25 opening in the air duct 16 is slidably inserted inthe slot 22 between the flexible flaps 24 and is of flatacutely radiusededges riding in the slot 22. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 each of theflexible flaps 24 has an inner sealing portion 27 curled inwardly andback on itself, substantially in a circle, and with an open end 28. Theopenends 28 allow for a rolling action in the flaps 24 as the scoop 25passes back and forth through the slot 22. Flattened end 29 of the airpick-up scoop 25 advantageously has a cross section somewhat like anairfoil, as shown in FIG. 3, to provide the most effective passage backand forth through the slot 22 while allowing an effective sealbetweenthe flexible flaps 24 in front of and behind the end 29 of the scoop 25.

The constant volume controller 41 to which the air scoop 25 is attachedby way of the connecting hose 42 maintains a constant air volume to thecrane cab 13. The controller 41 is used to overcome the extremevariations of static pressure in the air duct 16 due to the constantlychanging distance between the crane cab and the air conditioning supplyunit 20. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 the conditioned air from thecontroller 41 is delivered to the cab 13 by way of supply duct 45 whichis preferably insulated and terminates in a'distributing plenum 46 onthe cab 13. Air outlet devices are located on the plenum 46 in the cab,such as louvres47 and adjustable Punka louvre 48.

The fresh, cooled air being blown into the cab 13 is exhausted through asuitable exhaust outlet such as outlet 31 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and,advantageously, this clean exhaust air is taken through an exhaust fan32 located on the crane 10, with fan inlet 33 connected to the caboutlet 31 and fan outlet 34 located to blow air on and through theoperating motor 15 of the crane. In this way, the motor 15 is keptsupplied with clean air and fouling and plugging up of the motor in thepolluted atmosphere is greatly lessened. It is to be noted that cab airmay be exhausted for additional purposes. Thus the exhausted cab air maybe harnessed to prestened oblong configuration as shown in FIG. 3 withsurize various electrical components (not shown), such as switchingdevices, located in the vicinity of the cab. The positive pressure wouldthus prevent ingestion of dirt into the components and incidences ofmalfunction are thus lessened. Furthermore, the exhausted air may bediverted on other mechanical devices located on the crane, such as hoistbrakes, thus enhancing their operation in a polluted environment. Theexhausted air may also be harnessed to provide a source of clean, freshair to a walkway (not shown), located on the crane, which permits repairaccess to crane and cab operating parts. Thus, the exhausted air iscaused to flow into a duct extending along the length of the walkway.Repairmen, located on the walkway, may have resort to a stream of clean,fresh air emitted through louvres or similar exhausting vents located atpositions along the duct.

The operation of the air conditioning system for the travelling cranecab embodying the invention can be readily ascertained from theforegoing description taken in conjunction with the drawings. Clean,fresh air is drawn from outside the building in which the crane ishoused and is advantageously cleaned and cooled in an air conditioningunit or heated, if desired. The conditioned air is continuously suppliedto the longitudinal air duct in the system and, as the crane moves backand forth in the building, the sliding air pick-up scoop for the cranecab moves back and forth in the slot located in and along the length ofthe air duct, with conditioned air being blown continuously through thepick-up scoop and into the cab. The flexible flaps in the air duct slotremain in sealing engagement in front of the pickup scoop and close insealing engagement behind it as it travels back and forth through theair duct, thereby substantially preventing escape of air from the airduct or header except through the pick-up scoop and into the crane cab.

As shown in FIG. 5, in a situation where more than one crane is used ina particularly extended operation (three cranes 35 being shown in FIG.5), more than one conditioned air supply unit 36 can be utilized forsupplying air duct 37 extending along the length of building 38 in whichthe cranes are located. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 theconditioned air supply units 36 are located outside of and at oppositeends of the building 38. Air supply lines 39 connect the units 36 toopposite ends of the air duct 37. It can be appreciated that one or moreconditioned air supply units could be connected into the header atintermediate locations between its extremities.

It can be seen that the ventilating system embodying the inventionsuccessfully provides conditioned air for the operator in the cab of atravelling crane while avoiding contamination and fouling of theconditioned air supply unit. The ventilating system further has theeffect of maintaining a positive pressure in the cab with respect to theambient conditions outside the cab. Thus, ingestion of dirt particlesinto the cab is lessened and, more importantly, infiltration of noxiousgases, such as carbon monoxide, is prevented.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings, the invention is alsouseful in providing an exhaust system such as for travelling fume orexhaust hoods located over lines of equipment discharging noxious gasesperiodically, such as for example coke ovens. An exhaust system for suchfume hoods is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 as an embodiment of theinvention. A travelling exhaust or fume hood 49, portions thereof beingbroken and cut away in the view of FIG. 6, is depicted travelling ontracks, only one track 50 being shown with wheel 51 running thereon. Anelongated gas duct 52 is shown which has an exhaust line (not shown)con- 5 nected thereto corresponding with air supply lines 39 shown inFIG. 5.

As with the system shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, an elongated slot 53 islocated in the gas duct 52 along the length thereof with the slot havingspaced apart opposed edges 54 in the duct 52. A continuous sealingmember 55 is located in and along the full length of the slot 53normally sealing the slot against outward flow of noxious gasestherethrough. The sealing member 55 has two flexible flaps 56 ofelastomeric material, one flap being attached to one of the edges 54 andthe other flap to the other of the edges 54. The flaps 56 are biased tonormally bear against each other in sealing engagement, therebyproviding a seal for the slot 53. This is accomplished by having outersealing portions 57 on each of the flaps 56 located outside theelongated duct 52, each of the sealing portions 57 being curledsubstantially back on itself and having an open end 58. As

before, the open ends 58 allow for a rolling action in g the flaps 56 asexhaust scoop 59 passes back and forth through the slot 53. It can beseen that maintenance of a negative pressure in the duct 52, the systembeing under exhaust, causes the sealing portions 57 of the flaps 56 tobe held in sealing engagement against each other.

The exhaust scoop 59 is attached to the exhaust hood 49 with one end 61opening into the hood 49 and the other end opening into the gas duct 52.Advantageously, where high temperature noxious gases are beingexhausted, the exhaust scoop 59 comprises an inner tube 62, attached toand opening into the hood 49 and opening at its other end into the duct52, and an outer tube or sleeve 63 surrounding and spaced from the innertube 62 (by way of attaching spacers 64). The outer sleeve 63 has openends, with an outer end 65 exposed to ambient and an inner end 66opening into the duct 52, thereby allowing cooling air to be drawn intoit and to flow therethrough. The sealing portions 57 of the flaps 56bear against a cooled surface and are prevented from becoming overheatedby hot exhaust gases.

At least the sleeve portion-63 of the scoop 59 is of flattened oblongconfiguration on a cross section thereof with acutely radiused edges.These edges are located in the slot 53 between'the flaps 56 to provideopening and closing of the slot as the scoop 59 travels therethroughwith minimum gas leakage therefrom.

It can be seen that the operation of the system of FIGS. 6 and 7 issimilar to thatdescribed with reference 5 to the system of FIGS. 1through 4 except that noxious gases are being drawn out throughtheexhaust system described and fresh air is being blown in through theventilating or air conditioning system first described.

It can be appreciated that for applications such as those illustratedwith reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, a very long length of sealing membermust be used which means that the flexible flaps must be made up insections and the sections must be joined together. A mere abutting ofsections is not possible because of expansion and contraction occurringdue to temperature changes and overlapping of sections causes verysevere problems in gas leakage and travel of the gas delivery scoop overoverlapped portions. Thus, extreme wear occurs on the scoop and theflaps can be mm or even dislodged from their positions.

An advantageous joint 67 between sections 68, 69 of a flexible flap 70is shown in FIG. 8. The section 68 has an outer end 71 overlapping innerend 72 of the section 69 and the two sections 68, 69 are joined togetherby connecting members, such as rivets 73. The outer end 71 is cut andarranged with a bevelled edge 74 which is at an acute angle to open end75 of the flap 70. This arrangement facilitates smooth movement of thegas delivery scoop back and forth from one section to the other.Furthermore, the overlapping of sections provides for a good gas seal atjoints in the flexible flaps. FIG. 8 clearly illustrates channelportions 76 on and integral with the flap 70 which are advantageouslyused for attachment to the gas duct. As shown in FIG. 8, the connectingrivets 73 are advantageously slidably located in matching slottedportions 77 cut in the sections 68, 69 of the flap 70. This allows forexpansion and contraction of the sections of the flaps and for relativelongitudinal movement between the flaps and the gas duct on which theflaps are located. It can be appreciated that any number of sections offlexible flap may be joinedtogether as shown in FIG. 8 to provide adesired length of sealing member. It is noted that providing the sealingmember in sections allows a damaged section to be repaired by removal ofthe damaged section and installation of a new section. Accordingly,sections adjoining the damaged section are not disturbed during therepair sequence.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a sealing member 78 having flexible flaps 79,80 comprising sections 81, 82 of the flap 79 and sections 83, 84 of theflap 80 joined to form joints as shown in FIG. 8. The joints in theflaps 79, 80 are advantageously arranged to have bevelled inner portions85, 86 adjacent one another but not abutting to thereby provide the mosteffective seal possible at joints in the flaps.

Referring to FIG. of the drawings, a different arrangement of a gasdelivery scoop 87 and a sealingv member 88 embodying the invention isshown in perspective. The scoop 87 has one end 89 opening into a movingvehicle being supplied with fresh air (not shown) by way of flexiblehose 90 and end 91 is inserted between flexible flaps 92 of the sealingmember 88 located on a gas duct (not shown) as previously describedherein. The scoop 87 has plates 93 (see also FIG. 12 referred tohereinafter) of wear resistant material attached to each side thereof toprovide riding surfaces for the flexible flaps 92 of the sealing member88. Advantageously the plates 93 are of a material such as Teflon (trademark) which is compatible with the sealing material and has a very lowcoefficient of friction thereby reducing wear on the flaps of thesealing member 88. Furthermore, the plates 93 are advantageously placedin a continuous strip around the periphery of the flattened, oblong end91 of the scoop 87 (as shown in FIG. 10 and more clearly shown in FIG.11 referred to hereinafter) and are designed to be quickly replaceable.

Referring to FIG. 11, which is a broken sectional view through line11-11 of FIG. 10, the wear plates 93 are shown attached to andsurrounding the end 91 of the scoop which is inserted between theflexible flaps 92. A cleaning or wiping action is set up by the scoop asit moves through the flaps as can be seen by close examination of FIG.11 as a very small opening 94 is maintained ahead of the scoop where theflaps 92 are being separated. This cleaning or wiping action occurs byvirtue of clean air issuing at high velocity out through the smallopening 94 (in the case of a ventilating or air conditioningapplication), or entering the small opening (in the case of an exhaustapplication), whereby the flaps 92 are wiped clean of any dirt particlesor other contaminants which have been deposited. This cleaning or wipingaction cuts down wear on the flaps 92 and prolongs the life of wearsurfaces 93 of the gas delivery scoop.

Referring now to FIG. 12, which is a sectional view through line 1212 ofFIG. 10, the advantageous rolling action of the flexible flaps 92 as theend 91 of the scoop passes therethrough is clearly illustrated. Thisrolling action allows for clean surfaces to be presented to the wearportions 93 of the scoop thereby preventing the rubbing of dirtparticles into the flaps 92 and the wear portions 93 and prolonging thelife of these components. -It can be seen that lines A (seen as pointsin FIG. 12) where the flaps are touching in sealing engagement beforeentrance of the scoop (shown in broken outline as 92a) are rolled so asto be well away from contacting the scoop and are shown in position A'.This rolling action is a most advantageous feature of the presentinvention. 1

FIG. 13 illustrates another variation of scoop, sealing member and gasduct embodying the invention. In this embodiment scoop 95 is shown in aperspective-view with oblong end 96 vertically inserted into and ridingbetween flexible flaps 97 in. sealing member 98. The flaps 97 areslidably clipped on to gas duct 99 which is rectangular inshape and hasan inner casing 100 and an outer casing 101 with insulating, 102,-advantageously of the expanded type therebetween. The scoop 95 is seento be longitudinally pivotally mounted by way of journal boxes 103 onsupporting brackets 104. This arrangement allows for advantageousrelative sideways motion between the gas duct 99 and the scoop 95 whichis, of course, connected to and moving with the travelling vehicle beingsupplied with'fresh air or exhausted, which vehicle can be subject to acertain amount of sideways motion as it moves along.

Referring to FIG. 14, the action of the pivotally mounted scoop 95 shownin FIG. 13 is illustrated. Thus, as the moving vehicle to which thescoop is attached sways from side to side the brackets 104 (only onebeing shown in FIG. 14) move back and forth between the positions shownby the solid and broken lines 104, 104a, the scoop being shown inpositions 95, 95a respectively. The oblong end 96 (96a in the brokenline position) of the scoop 95 is held between flexible flaps 97 andtherefore the scoop 95 pivots in journal boxes 103 (10311 in the brokenline position)and the end 96 remains substantially centred between thetwo flaps, 97, thereby maintaining a seal between the-flaps and the gasscoop. As can be seen from FIG. 14, considerable relative motion betweenthe scoop 95 and the gas duct 99 can be allowed for while still havingsome clearance 105, 105a between fastening edges 106 of the flaps 97.

The novel system of the invention has many and varied applicationsinvolving the supply of clean air-to .or exhaust removal from movingvehicles or equipment. In FIG. 15 a diagrammatic representation of ascale car 107 used for measuring charge materials to furnaces of varioustypes is shown, which runs on tracks 108 and is situated in closeproximity to the furnace or furnaces being fed, thereby being subjectedto extreme heat and air pollution conditions. Cooling and ventilation ofsuch cars has always been a problem, one which has never beensatisfactorily solved. As can be seen from FIG. 15, the scale car 107 isnecessarily quite open to the surrounding ambient so that operators 109are subjected directly to the conditions of such ambient, beingprotected only by roof and siding structure 110. It has been found thatthe system of the invention provides ventilation from clean air, cool orwarm, if necessary, in a fashion which substantially eliminates contactfrom the surrounding polluted ambient with the operators 109.

Elongated gas duct 111, cut away at the near end in the view of FIG. 15,is located along the full length of the tracks 108 on which the scalecar 107 travels. Gas (in this case clean air) delivery scoop 112, withoblong end 113 inserted between flexible flaps 1 14, located in slot 115of the duct 111, is shown supported on framework 116 on the car 107.Fresh air, either cool or warm as desired, is supplied under pressure tothe duct 111 and this air passes into the scoop 112, through flexiblelines 117 and air controller 118 into hood 119 and through louvers 120to be directed as desired onto the operators 109 along the full lengthof the car 107. The end 113 of the scoop 112 slides back and forth inthe gas duct as the car 107 moves back and forth.

It can be appreciated that the fresh air supply or exhaust system of theinvention is, other than the elongated gas duct, attached to thetravelling vehicle being ventilated or exhausted. Removal of the vehicleaway from the elongated gas duct would involve disconnecting portions ofthe system. Accordingly, an exiting and re-entry arrangement embodied bythat shown in FIG. 16 can be utilized, whereby disconnection of any partof the system is avoided. In the entry and exit portion shown in FIG.16, gas duct 120 has a cloosed end section 121 thereon graduallydecreasing in depth as shown so as to provide an inclined surface 122thereon. Slot 123 in the duct 120 has flexible sealing flaps 124 thereinproviding a continuous sealing member in which gas delivery scoop 125rides (only a brokenaway portion of the scoop 125 being shown). The slot123 and the sealing flaps 124 follow the inclined surface 122 to end 126(shown partially broken away) of the gas duct 120. Affixed under thesection 121 are flexible sealing pads 127 which project up between thesealing flaps 124 in sealing engagement therewith and which are normallyin sealing engagement with each other.

' The pads 127 are attached to the section 121 of the duct 120 by way ofstrap members 128 and the pads gradually decrease in height from the end126 to where the inclined surface 122 ends at the full depth section ofthe duct 120. It can be seen that when the scoop 125 is entering theduct in the direction of arrow 129 it progresses along the sealing pads127 which provide a sealing action ahead of and behind the scoop 125 andthe scoop finally enters the sealing flaps 124 and is fully contained inthe flaps 124 while always maintaining the necessary sealing action forthe duct 120. In exiting from the duct 120 the scoop reverses theaforedescribed procedure. The entry and exit portion just described isseen to provide a simple disconnect system which completely avoids thenecessity for detaching any parts of the ventilating system of theinvention.

It can be appreciated that many travelling cranes have cabs which movetransversely on rails located on the crane, which itself travelslongitudinally. Such a crane 130 is shown in very simple representationin FIG. 17 which is travelling on rails 131 but on which cab 132 travelstransversely on rails 133 (only one being shown in FIG. 17). In theembodiment of the invention an elongated air duct 134 is provided overthe path of travel of the cab 132 and is mounted and supported on thecrane superstructure by suitable support means 135. The air duct 134 ishereafter referred to as the crane duct to distinguish it from main airduct 136 located along one side of the path of travel of the crane 130.It is noted that the crane duct 134 has an elongated slot 137 and acontinuous sealing member 138 and is in all respects identical to thedesignof the main duct 136 except that end 139 furthest away from themain duct 136 is sealed while end 140 closest to the main duct isconnected to an air pick-up scoop 141. The air pick-up scoop 141 has oneend attached to and opening into the end 140 of the crane duct 134 byway of hose 142 and the other end opening into the main duct 136. Theend of the pick-up scoop 141 opening into the main duct is slidablyinserted in slot 143 between flexible flaps 144 and is of the sameoblong configuration as earlier described with reference to otherfigures of drawing. The travelling cab 132 has an air pick-up scoop 145attachedthereto and opening into the top thereof. The scoop 145 ispositioned to be slidably inserted into the slot 137 between theflexible flaps 13s of the crane duct 134.

It can be appreciated that a constant volume controller such as thatshown in FIG. 2 is advantageously included in the system, although forthe sake of simplicity it is not shown in FIG. 17.

It can be seen that the ventilating system embodying the inventionsuccessfully provides conditioned air for the operator in the cab of atravelling crane wherein the cab travels transversely to the directionof travel of the crane itself.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A ventilating system for a travelling gas-filled vehicle comprising astationary elongated gas duct, a gas line connected in gas exchangerelationship with said duct, an elongated slot located along the lengthof the gas duct, the slot having spaced apart opposed edges in the duct,a continuous sealing member in and along the full length of the slot andnormally sealing the slot against flow of gases therethrough, saidsealing member comprising two flexible flaps of elastomeric material,each flap having a sealing portion curled inwardly and substantiallyback on itself and with an open end, the open end being unattached andallowing a rolling action in the flap, one flap being attached to oneedge and the other flap being attached to the other edge of the slot andthe flaps being biased to bear against each other in sealing engagementand provide a seal for the slot, a gas delivery scoop, said scoop beingattached to the travelling vehicle and having one end opening into thegas duct and the other end opening into the vehicle, the end of thescoop opening into the gas duct being slidably inserted in the elongatedslot between the flexible flaps and being of flattened oblongconfiguration on a cross section thereof with acutely radiused edges,said edges being located in the slot-to provide opening and closing ofthe slot with minimum gas leakage therefrom and a gas moving deviceconnected to the gas line and gas duct.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the flaps has a numberof sections therein joined together to make up the complete flap, thesections having joints between them comprising outer and inneroverlapping ends joined together by connecting members, the outeroverlapping end being arranged at an acute angle to the open end of theflap and having a bevelled edge to facilitate movement of the gasdelivery scoop from one section to another.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the overlapping ends havematching slotted portions therein and the connecting members are rivetmembers located through and slidable in the slotted portions.

4. A system as claimed in claim 2 which is an exhaust system for atravelling exhaust hood and wherein the gas line is an exhaust line,each flexible flap has its sealing portion located outside the elongatedduct, the gas delivery scoop is an exhaust scoop and an exhaustingdevice is connected to the exhaust line and the gas duct.

5. An exhaust system as claimed in claim 4 wherein the end of theexhaust scoop in the elongated slot has a cross section of airfoilconfiguration.

6. An exhaust system as claimed in claim 4 wherein an insulating sleeveis located around and spaced from the exhaust scoop and having openends, thereby providing a cooled surface for the flexible flaps, saidinsulating sleeve having the flattened oblong configuration on a crosssection thereof with acutely radiused edges. 7. A system as claimed inclaim 2 which is a system for supplying clean air to the travellingvehicle and wherein the gas line is adapted to supply the clean air tothe duct, each flexible flap has its sealing portion located insidetheelongated duct and the gas delivery scoop delivers the clean air to thetravelling vehicle.

8. A system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the overlapping ends of thejoints in the flaps have matching slotted portions therein and theconnecting members are rivet members located through and slidable in theslotted portions.

9. A system as claimed in claim 8 wherein a constant volume controlleris located between the gas delivery scoop and the travelling vehiclewith the scoop opening into the controller and the controller openinginto the vehicle.

10. A'system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the vehicle is a travellingcrane, the crane has a motor located thereon and an exhaust fan islocated on the crane having an inlet connected to and exhausting airfrom the cab and an outlet located to blow air on and through the cranemotor.

11. A system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the end of the gas deliveryscoop in the elongated slot has a cross section of airfoilconfiguration.

12. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the gas delivery scoop hasplates of wear resistant material attached to each side thereof toprovide wear resistant riding surfaces for the flexible flaps.

13. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the gas delivery scoop ispivotally mounted longitudinally to provide for relative sideways motionbetween the scoop and the duct.

14. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein an entry and exit portion forthe gas delivery scoop is provided on an end of the duct having twoflexible sealing pads thereon normally closed to seal the end of theduct, said pads having a depth decreasing from the end of the duct andbeing arranged to allow the scoop to enter and leave the duct andconnect into and disconnect from the sealing member while maintainingthe duct sealed.

1. A ventilating system for a travelling gas-filled vehicle comprising a stationary elongated gas duct, a gas line connected in gas exchange relationship with said duct, an elongated slot located along the length of the gas duct, the slot having spaced apart opposed edges in the duct, a continuous sealing member in and along the full length of the slot and normally sealing the slot against flow of gases therethrough, said sealing member comprising two flexible flaps of elastomeric material, each flap having a sealing portion curled inwardly and substantially back on itself and with an open end, the open end being unattached and allowing a rolling action in the flap, one flap being attached to one edge and the other flap being attached to the other edge of the slot and the flaps being biased to bear against each other in sealing engagement and provide a seal for the slot, a gas delivery scoop, said scoop being attached to the travelling vehicle and having one end opening into the gas duct and the other end opening into the vehicle, the end of the scoop opening into the gas duct being slidably inserted in the elongateD slot between the flexible flaps and being of flattened oblong configuration on a cross section thereof with acutely radiused edges, said edges being located in the slot to provide opening and closing of the slot with minimum gas leakage therefrom and a gas moving device connected to the gas line and gas duct.
 2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the flaps has a number of sections therein joined together to make up the complete flap, the sections having joints between them comprising outer and inner overlapping ends joined together by connecting members, the outer overlapping end being arranged at an acute angle to the open end of the flap and having a bevelled edge to facilitate movement of the gas delivery scoop from one section to another.
 3. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the overlapping ends have matching slotted portions therein and the connecting members are rivet members located through and slidable in the slotted portions.
 4. A system as claimed in claim 2 which is an exhaust system for a travelling exhaust hood and wherein the gas line is an exhaust line, each flexible flap has its sealing portion located outside the elongated duct, the gas delivery scoop is an exhaust scoop and an exhausting device is connected to the exhaust line and the gas duct.
 5. An exhaust system as claimed in claim 4 wherein the end of the exhaust scoop in the elongated slot has a cross section of airfoil configuration.
 6. An exhaust system as claimed in claim 4 wherein an insulating sleeve is located around and spaced from the exhaust scoop and having open ends, thereby providing a cooled surface for the flexible flaps, said insulating sleeve having the flattened oblong configuration on a cross section thereof with acutely radiused edges.
 7. A system as claimed in claim 2 which is a system for supplying clean air to the travelling vehicle and wherein the gas line is adapted to supply the clean air to the duct, each flexible flap has its sealing portion located inside the elongated duct and the gas delivery scoop delivers the clean air to the travelling vehicle.
 8. A system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the overlapping ends of the joints in the flaps have matching slotted portions therein and the connecting members are rivet members located through and slidable in the slotted portions.
 9. A system as claimed in claim 8 wherein a constant volume controller is located between the gas delivery scoop and the travelling vehicle with the scoop opening into the controller and the controller opening into the vehicle.
 10. A system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the vehicle is a travelling crane, the crane has a motor located thereon and an exhaust fan is located on the crane having an inlet connected to and exhausting air from the cab and an outlet located to blow air on and through the crane motor.
 11. A system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the end of the gas delivery scoop in the elongated slot has a cross section of airfoil configuration.
 12. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the gas delivery scoop has plates of wear resistant material attached to each side thereof to provide wear resistant riding surfaces for the flexible flaps.
 13. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the gas delivery scoop is pivotally mounted longitudinally to provide for relative sideways motion between the scoop and the duct.
 14. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein an entry and exit portion for the gas delivery scoop is provided on an end of the duct having two flexible sealing pads thereon normally closed to seal the end of the duct, said pads having a depth decreasing from the end of the duct and being arranged to allow the scoop to enter and leave the duct and connect into and disconnect from the sealing member while maintaining the duct sealed. 